Wednesday, June 11, 2014

RE: @PressedOttawa's Binary Bathrooms

I'm a regular customer writing to you today about your recent washroom renovations. I write not of the aesthetic or function of the renovation; I am writing to express my disappointment with the transition from gender neutral to Men's and Women's washrooms.

The gender neutrality of Pressed's washrooms was a progressive policy that in part motivates my business at the cafe. As a feminist, I valued your establishment's commitment to the inclusion of trans and gender non-conforming clientele. I do not see the addition of a urinal to one of the washrooms as a sufficient pretext to abandon an inclusive policy. (Formerly two single stalls)

I urge you to administer your business' spaces in a way that do not perpetuate oppressions against trans and gender non-conforming persons. I suggest returning to numbered, rather than gendered, washrooms. Practically, I also suggest indicating which has a urinal.

I hope that these concerns resonate with you and that the spaces are re-labelled in a gender-neutral styling.

Sincerely,

D$$

Washroom 2 Now with URINAL!

Check out the story of the above gender neutral, yet completely intelligible, logo above.